9 Day Guided Motorcycle Tour Togo Benin Adventure

Day 1: Arrival - Lome

You will probably arrive at Lomé Airport in the evening. If it is not too late, the tour guide will meet you. You will receive some information, and you can have dinner at the Hotel. If you have more time, please explore the city.

In 1897, Lomé was the capital of Togoland. During that time Togo was a German colony. The city Lomé is named after Alotimé by the Ewe people. This means ‘between the plants Alo’. Alo is a tree species. In the 1960s, the Germans constructed a 420-meter jetty and a deep-water port for the export of raw materials. Now in Lomé, there is a fetish voodoo market and a big market.

In the evening it is lively in the city as residents go to the many bars and discos. Here you can drink chouck (beer), deha (palm wine), and Sodabe (spirits). A local yam dish is made with a type of boiled sweet potato. The sweet potato is ground into a dough-like consistency and cassava is added to it. The local dish fufu consists of Yam served with fish soup. Other local dishes include Gboma (spinach).

Day 2: Lome - Vogan - Possotome (Benin)

Today is your first ride on the motorcycle. After a short explanation about the motorbikes, you ride out of Lomë. There is a lot of traffic such as motorcycles, mopeds, and cars. Soon it gets quieter on the roads. You ride through all types of small villages. Vogan is known for a large vodoo market on Friday.

Next, you ride through the old city of Grand Popo. This was an important city during the slave trade, which was first occupied by the Portuguese and later the French. You see many empty and dilapidated buildings here. Then you cross the long river Mono to Benin, which runs along the border of Benin.

Next, you ride along Lake Ahémé to the Possomtome community. This community is known for the Vodoo religion. You sleep along the lake.

Day 3: Possotomé - Ouidah

Today you go on a boat trip at Lake Ahémé. Your guide tells stories about gods and legends. In addition, you see daily life along the lake and discover different fishing techniques.

Then you go to Ouidah, the capital of the Voodoo religion. Due to its favorable location and the harbor, Ouidah was an important place for the slave trade. A holdover from the Portuguese era of Benin is the Fortress of São João Baptista de Ajudá which was also important for the slave trade. The fort is now a museum.

Many monuments are connected to the former slave trade, such as the Route des Esclaves (the slave route). This is a 2.5-mile road from the Ouidah Museum of History to the beach. This used to be the road that slaves walked on to get to the coast. The Door of No Return is an arch through which more than 15 million slaves have passed and is now a monument commemorating this time.

The Tree of Forgetfulness is another monument that slaves had to walk around so they would forget their homeland. The 12m2 temple is dedicated to the python. 50 adult pythons live in the building. You spend the night in a cozy location near the sea.

Day 4: Ouidah - Abomey

Today you start driving along the beach between the ocean and many coconut trees and finally arrive in the capital Cotonou. You ride to the north of the city towards the west bank of Lake Nokoué. Here, you visit the water village of Ganvié with a canoe. The traditional houses of the Toffinu are built from bamboo or tree trunks that disappear into the water. The lake is an important area for many different birds.

If there is time, Motor Trails recommends that you go to the Artisanal Craft Center. There you can find traditional wooden masks, baskets, pots, and woven fabrics. These products tell beautiful stories of how they were used. You can buy the products for reasonable prices.

Alternatively, you can ride past Dantokpa Market, West Africa’s largest open-air market; the surface is over 20 hectares. It is an immense, busy, and chaotic place where you will be overwhelmed by the smells, colors, and sounds of bicycles, taxis, and motorbikes.

You continue to the Royal Palaces of Abomey, which were designated as a world heritage site by Unesco in 1985. Abomey was a powerful kingdom in Western Africa from the 17th century until the beginning of the 20th century, which among other things flourished due to the slave trade with Europe. Twelve Kings, all of whom built their own sumptuous palaces, successively ruled the area.

The palaces rose above and next to each other, in order of succession to the throne. In addition to the palaces, temples, sacrificial altars and villages for the royal household were also built.

Tonight we sleep in a comfortable hotel.

Day 5: Abomey - Atakpame (Togo)

Today is your last ride through the former kingdom of Dahomey. Benin has been independent since 1960 and was given its current name in 1975. The handicraft rugs with symbols of the 12 kings and the slavery that Benin has known are reminders of the country’s past.

You go to Togo again, crossing the Mono River and driving along the Nangbéto dam to finally reach the city of Atakpame. This city is a center of textile processing and a turning point for the cotton grown in the area. In the western part of Atakpamé, cocoa, and coffee are mainly grown. On a hill, the “coffee-cocoa triangle” is formed by Kpalime Badou and Atakpame. It is a varied route through the forest and over the hills of Ouali. Before sunset, you arrive at your hotel in Atakpame.

Day 6: Atakpame - Badou

Today, you ride to the west towards the border of Ghana. You can choose between several routes. You follow an old colonial colorful route past villages and colorful markets through the Okpabe region. Today’s final destination is the green town of Badou, which is located in a fertile valley surrounded by hills with forest and coffee plantations.

After this beautiful day of motorcycling through tropical forests, you go to your hotel in Badou. In the small village of Akloa is a beautiful waterfall. If there is not enough time left today you can go to this waterfall tomorrow morning. The forests in this area are full of butterflies, crickets, insects, birds, and other animals and beautiful plants.

Day 7: Badou - Kouma Konda

The environment consists of forests and hills. You have to ride close together. After a varied ride, you arrive at the plateau of Dayes. From here, there are beautiful views of the spectacular environment. Now the ride is full of curves, so you must ride carefully as we ascend to a height of more than 600 meters to reach the village of Kouma Konda.

The climate here is very pleasant. People in this region mainly live from the cultivation of coffee and cocoa. You can take a walk and see avocados, mahogany, iroko, cocoa, pepper, and a lot of butterflies. You sleep in the village tonight.

Day 8: Kouma Konda - Lome

This morning you can choose between a walk or a short motorbike ride through the area. Afterwards, you all ride to Lomé. You leave the woods shortly after taking off, transitioning to an area mainly consisting of palm and coconut trees. The road is now sandy and you can smell the sea. It gets busier again as you arrive in the capital Lomé.

Day 9: Departure – Lome

This is the end of the holiday. You will return home with beautiful memories.

Motorbikes

During this trip, you will ride on a Yamaha 250 TTR motorbike or a similar type of motorbike. You can upgrade to a Suzuki 350 DR-SE.

Mandatory items of clothing include a helmet, protective motorcycle jacket, gloves, a good strong pair of protective motorcycle trousers or trousers with loose knee armour / protectors, and sturdy high (mountain) boots. We also recommend having a good pair of sunglasses and a helmet with a visor, which will protect against dust and gravel.

Difficulty and offroad

You will encounter neither high altitudes nor extreme weather conditions on this trip. You ride on good to very poor quality asphalt roads. You also ride a third of the total distance on unpaved roads. The quality of these roads varies. When it rained, these roads can get quite slippery.

Skill level(s) required for this tour: Beginner, intermediate, and advanced

Beginner:

• Can ride for 2-3 hours
• Minimal riding experience
• Assistance required
• Comfortable with curves and leans
• Basic experience with unsurfaced roads
• Short distance ascents and descents

Intermediate:

• Can ride for 3-4 hours
• Average riding experience
• Little assistance required
• Comfortable with extreme curves and leans
• Average experience with unsurfaced roads
• Steep ascents and descents

Advanced:

• Can ride for 5-6 hours
• Extensive riding experience
• Assistance on demand (if required)
• Experienced with riding a variety of motorcycles
• Comfortable with any terrain and weather conditions